Crumpled Manhood Revisited

The Hawk is Dying

Michael Pitt, left, and Paul Giamatti in "The Hawk Is Dying."Credit
Strand Releasing

At this point in his career, the actor Paul Giamatti is pretty much the go-to guy for crumpled manhood, for characters whose disappointment with life is stamped on their spines and sagging jowls. In films like "American Splendor" and "Sideways," he turned dejection into a seduction technique and self-pity into a reason for living. Now imagine an entire film infected with this hangdog sensibility, unrelieved by humor or narrative interest, and you have "The Hawk Is Dying."

In this painfully earnest backwoods tale from the director Julian Goldberger, Mr. Giamatti plays George Gattling, a dispirited auto upholsterer who lives with his garrulous sister, Precious (Rusty Schwimmer), and her autistic son, Fred (Michael Pitt). Though George grabs occasional comfort from a psychology student named Betty (Michelle Williams) — a standard indie-movie slattern more interested in doing bong hits than in cracking books — his real passion is falconry. Not since Ken Loach's "Kes" has a bird of prey carried so much dramatic responsibility.

Set in North Florida and based on a book by Harry Crews, "The Hawk Is Dying" is a dreary study of male angst groaning beneath the weight of its own symbolism. Yet despite having to spend most of the movie with an unhappy hawk strapped to his wrist, Mr. Giamatti fully commits to a character burdened by visions and required to freak out in a funeral parlor.

"Life is a tragedy," sighs the local preacher, by way of calming him down. On the evidence of this film, you can only say, "Amen to that."

THE HAWK IS DYING

Opens today in New York and Los Angeles.

Directed by Julian Goldberger; written by Mr. Goldberger, based on the book by Harry Crews; director of photography, Bobby Bukowski; edited by Affonso Gonçalves; music by Jonathan Goldberger; production designer, Judy Becker; produced by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Mary Jane Skalski; released by Strand Releasing. In Manhattan at Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, Greenwich Village. Running time: 106 minutes. This film is not rated.